Sport ball



March 13,1928.` 1,662,527VA W. W.l MaCDONALD SPORT BALL Filed May 18, 1927 INVENTOR.

BY (ZK t 74.; ATTORNEYS.

4Patented Mar. 13, 1928,

UNITED STATES WILLIAM W. MAUDONALD, F

SPORT.

Application led May 18,

This invention relates to improvements in inflatable sport balls and more particularly to improvements in a valve for the bladder or inflatable element thereof.

The invention is directed to an improvement in the valve disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,618,676, granted Feb. 22,1927, on a joint invention of Milton B. Reach and myself. The filling tube and valve of that patent extended inwardly into the bladder and the illing tube was long and the spring for pressing the tube together to secure the valve action was relatively large and bulky.

As a consequence, the bladder, when uninlated, did not lie flat, as is ordinarilyvthe case and as is desired, but was humped up in the middle by the large bulk of' the iilling tube and valve. The uninfiatedv bladder, therefore, did not pack nicely in its box and was unattractive in appearance. Aside from.l

this, however, the arrangement was also open to objection because of the possibility of the bladder becoming injured or even punctured due to careless handling which might cause the ends of the metal spring to strike against the bladder. Such an inJury is especially likely to occur if something falls on the bladder or the carton in which it is packed. The blow, thereb delivered, might drive the spring throng the bladder at a oint opposite to that at which the filling tu e is attached. Another disadvantage of' the construction referred to is thatthe filling tube is unduly long and thereby offers a great deal of :trictional resistance to the insertion and removal ot' the infiating pin. Besides. making diflicult the operation oi inserting and removing the inflating pin, there is also the danger that in applying the relatively 40 great force necessary to insert the infiating pin in the filling tube, one might drive it through too far and cause an injury to or even a puncture of the bladder.

This invention has for its general object the provision of a valve, which will function in the same general manner as the valve of the prior patent, referred to, and which pos-v sesses all of the advantages of that type of valve without the disadvantages and objectionable features above set forth as incident to the prior construction.

Particular objects of the invention are to locatethe valve wholly on the outside of the bladder; to reduce the length of the filling tube; to improve the springby which the filling tube is closed and its disposition i 1,662,527 PATENT OFFICE.

CHICOPEE, MASSACHUSETTS.

BALL.

1927. Serial No. 192,442.

with relation to the filling tube; tb provide a simpler, cheaper and better construction of valve; and to provide a valve of ysuch exceedingly compact form as to render it possible to apply the valve to the outside of the bladder.

The valve construction of this invention has the advantages of the prior construction in that the bladder can be infiated or deflated without unlacing the outer casing of the ball and in that an effective and leak prooi valve closure is aHo-rded.

Other objects and advantages will appear 1n the following description and will be pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention will be disclosed with reference to the one illustrative embodiment of it in the accompanying drawings, in which: v Fig. l is a sectional view showing a portion of sport ball provided with a valve embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the ball, illustrating how' access may be had to the valve without unlacing the ball;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the valve element before the closure spring is applied thereto;l

Fig. 4e is asimilar view showing the spring in place;

Fig. 5 is a sectional plan View ,taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional View of a pin which may be used to open the valve and permit infiation and deflation of the ball.

Referring to these drawings, the bladder or inflatable inner casing is-shown in part at 8. It is to be understood that the bladder is air tight and has but the single opening 9, which is sealed by the valve of this invention. The cover, or outer easing, is designated l0 and it is provided on the inside with the usual fiap` 11 underlying the slit or opening 12 through which the bladder is insertedinto casing 10. The slit l2 is adapted to be substantially closed by lacings which are applied to the cover adjacent the slit in the usual `manner as indicated conventionally at 13.'

The valve of this invention consists essentially of a body `of flexible material, usually also elastic, such as rubber or the like, made up originally in the form shown in Fig. 3. The rubber body comprises a flange 15, usually circular and skived down toward the periphery as shown; an upstandlll) ine neck 1G which forms the filling tube and ischerein shown as of circular cross section; and a button 17 on top of the neck. This body has a central and axially disposed hole 1S therethrough which hole forms the filling opening for the bladder and is substantially commensurate in diameter with the 1nflating tube 19 shown in Fig. 6. The filling opening 18 has a flaring entrance Q0 at its upper end, to facilitate insertion of tube 19 and, if desired, a flaring exit Q0 at its lower end. The flange 15 is vulcanized to the outer wall of bladder 8 with the openings 18 and 0 in communication. The valve also includes some suitable means for compressing the neck 1G and normally forclrlg the walls of opening 18 into intimate contact so as to prevent air from passing into or out of bladder 8.

lVhile various means may be employed for this purpose and it is even possible to so form the tube 16 that it will of itselfclose, I prefer to provide a means which will always insure a tight closure. Therefore, by preference, I use a metal spring, such for example as that shown at 21 in Fig. 5, because this will remain effective long after rubber or elastic bands have, by deterioration and a ing, lost their elasticity. rThe spring, as ierein shown, is made of thin flatmetal and may be bent up into approximately U-shaped form, or as shown, more nearly in the form of a letter O, except that its ends do notquite meet. At any rate, the important thing is to provide two substantially parallel legs between which the walls of the filling tube are clamped and to have these legs long enoughto cover the entire width of the filling tube when the latter is flattened down as shown in Fig, 5. This spring is characterized in that it occupies on y a small amount of space lengthwise of the filling tube and it may, by variation of its cross sectional shape from that illustrated, be made even smaller in height if necessary or desired. The long dimension of the spring is erosswise of, or transverse to, the axis of the filling tube. and by this disposition of parts I am enabled to make the valve of such small compass that it can be applied to the outside of the bladder.

The spring 21 may be covered by an elastic band or tube 22 to protect adjacent parts from possible injury by `contact with the edges of the spring.

In use, the bladder, uninflated, is inserted through slit 12 into the casing 1() and the button 17 of the valve is passed through the usual hole in flap l1 so that the button at all times holds the mouth 20 of the filling tube in a definite and accessible position. The cover l() is then laced up in the usual manner, leaving the mouth Q0 accessible as shown in Fig. 2. To inflate the bladder, a tube lsuch as 10 may be used. This tube, which may be much shorter than what is required with the prior type of' valve, has a hole Q3 leading from one end toward, but terminating short of, the opposite end. The last named end is preferably nicely rounded, as at 2l, so as to facilitate its insertion into the filling opening and avoid injury thereto or to the bladder. The lower end ot' hole 23 communicates with a radial hole leading to the outer periphery of' the tube. )ne inserts the rounded end 2l into the flaring entrance 2t) and pushes it inwardly into and through the filling opening until the hole :25 is brought into comnulnication with the interior of bladder 8. The bladder is then inflated in any suitable way, using the tube 19 as a conduit for the air. As the lube 19 is inserted in filling opening 18, the arms of spring 21 are forced apart and the valve opened. When tube 19 is withdrawn, the arms of the spring close ofl` the opening 18 and the'bladder is thereby sealed against escape of air.

It is to be noted that the valve is disposed in its entirety on the outside of the bladder,-a location which is not at all feasible with the prior construction heretofore alluded to. The valve luis been made of small compass; the filling tube has been materially reduced in length and the axial dimensions made as small as feasible; and a d'flerent type of spring has been used which is characterized by having its longr dimensiontransverse to, rather than parallel with, the axis of the filling tube. These I'arious changes are each important factors, making possible, as they do, the location of the valve outside the bladder. At the same time. I get the advantage that the bladder, when deflated, lies flat, packs nicely and looks attractive to a customer. Also, I eliminate, or at least materially lessen, the danger of' puncturing or injuring the bladder both duringr j'iacking. shipment and handling of the bladder and during inflation of the same by the use of' a tube, such as lll. 'l`hc suhstantial decrease in length oll the tube so lessens the frictional resistance to insertion of the inflating tube 19 that it can be inserted much more easily. Since less force is required to insert it, there is ler-'s likelihood that it will be jammed in so violently as to enter. too far and puncture the bladder at al point opposite that at which the valve is attached.

The valve of this invention is of the same general class as that ol' the valve of said patent and functions .similarly and has all the advantages incident to the use of the special type ot valve shown in the patent. At the same time, the valve construction has been materially improved and simplified and made in such a manner that it muy be lollt] , cated outside rather than inside the bladder,

thusl overcomin the objections to and disadvantages of te prior construction.

The invention has been disclosed herein, in an embodiment at present preferred, for illustrative purposes but the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description.

What I claim is:

1. A Valve for inflatable s ort balls comprising, a filling tube exten ing outwardly a relatively short distance from the bladder of the ball, and a substantially `U-shaped spring, the legs of which are disposed transversely to the axis of the filling tube and act to press the walls ofthe latter together' to close the filling opening.

2. The combination with the cover, flap and bladder of a sport ball, of a body of rub-y ber or the like having a flange attached to the bladder, a. neck upstandingfrom the ange and terminatinv with abutton adapted to fasten to said ap, said body having a normally closed fllin opening therein leading from the outer ace of the button through said neck and flange into the bladder, the entrance to said opening being accessible through the laced opening of said cover Without unlacing the same.

- 3. A valve for an inflatable sport ball, comprising, a body of rubber or the like having a base flange for attachment to the outer Wall of the bladder and a short straight upstanding tubular neck terminating in a button, and a sprino having legs extending transversely to tie axis of the neck and pressing against the latter at oppositely disposed points to normally close the filling i opening therethrough.

In testimony whereof have affixed my 40 signature. v

l WILLIAM W. MACDON ALD. 

